Apollo astronaut Harrison “Jack” Schmitt knows what the Artemis II crew was feeling when it rocketed into space earlier this month for a historic lunar flyby. Pure excitement and the potential for so much more. Schmitt is one of the four people still alive who walked on the moon during the Apollo missions more than 50 years ago. As the first scientist to set foot there, he spent three days with fellow astronaut Eugene Cernan collecting rock and soil samples. Schmitt, now 90, spoke to The Associated Press about the importance of having a lunar base, the potential for tapping isotopes on the moon for energy production and whether we’re alone in the universe.